thebedla t1_iss94d9 wrote on October 18, 2022 at 9:58 AM

Reply to comment by WoodenSpearZ in TIL that when a cat has a flat face (such as a Persian), that is actually a deformity. Breeders, however, are able to find ways of altering the cat’s genetics by choosing who they breed with. They do this because so many people gravitate to the smushed in face. by dioWjonathenL

They do alter genetics just like in a lab, only with different means. The animals' genetic code is altered by selective breeding - only those whose genome expresses the desired characteristics are bred, which means their offspring carry that genetic information. The result is genetically no different from making that change with CRISPR, for example.

That being said, it's even worse than genegineering because you cannot precisely select which gene to target. You just breed dogs that look funny. And that means some traits are going to be reinforced involuntarily. This is why overbred dogs have other health problems unrelated to the actual physical traits being selected for.